My perception of our African tour-before

We’ve spent a few days in Johannesburg with some very dear friends of ours, Gareth and Lynsey.  They were also crew in the BVI up until about 5 years ago.  We met them our second year in the islands while we freelanced for a company called Voyage, where they worked.  We have always kept in touch (for the most part!) and when we figured out our plans for travel I contacted them to see if we could meet up when we came to SA.  They invited us to stay with them in their home, and this allowed us to take a few days to stay off our feet and really relax.

When Gareth and Lynsey left the BVI, they moved to Zambia for about a year to work in a bush camp.  So they have a pretty good idea of things to do and see while we go there.  They also have a lot of advice for us and suggestions and encouragement on some activities that must be done while on this continent (ahem, Mom, he says we absolutely MUST do the Great White Cage Diving!!). 

But over dinner on our first night, Gareth asked us an interesting question: what are your top five animals you hope to see while here? I had a feeling there was more to this question, but went on to answer it anyway.

For Matt, it was, in no particular order, lion, zebra, giraffe, elephant, rhino.  For me, it was similar: lion, leopard, cheetah, elephant and giraffe.  But then I added, “I know we’ll see most of these things, but what I’m most excited about is seeing things I have no idea exist here.”  

Gareth went on to say that indeed, we will see things we will never have known before could exist in the Animal Kingdom.  And we’ll see things he can’t even describe to us now because we just won’t get it until we see it.  And while we’ll see those big animals, we’ll be more amazed at the little things we’ll see.  And we’ll be even more amazed at the topography and the scenery before us.

As our conversations over the weekend continued, he told us a little more about how amazing our trip will be.  Of course, not having a first clue at what we’re about to see, I realize that this is most likely true but that I just don’t have a concept on how to embrace that truth.  And so, I thought, before I begin to see anything, I think I should write down what I think I’m going to see.  And at the end of this adventure, write down what I actually did see and discover how off the mark I was.

First off, I feel like when we step off the plane in Zambia we will be greeted with a standard small airport, but with older open-air trucks and tents along the roads.  Our friends will meet us at the airport so we will ride in the car with them to our campsite.  We’ve learned during our stay in Joburg that Livingstone, where we will be in Zambia, is not the safari-destination that other places will be.  Rather, we will be immersed with activities that surround the Victoria Falls.  So our first few days will be doing things water-based: white water rafting, the Devil’s pool (which is a still natural pool that overlooks the mountains and such), and bungee jumping the second largest bridge, should we feel so inclined (I don’t).  So knowing that, I feel like our first few days in Zambia will be a lot like Niagara Falls: a lot of people, a lot of water, a lot of noise from the falls.  At night, we will be sleeping in a “tent” offered by the resort, which apparently is not tent-like at all, but rather a platform with a tent-like formation with a bed and bathroom.  So even though we're not technically "camping" at that point, I expect to hear lots of bugs and other nature of the night.

My thoughts on our drives through Botswana and Namibia are this: driving down desolate open bumpy dirt roads for hours on end, stopping in various national parks to do our game-sighting (some of these parks we’ll stay for more than one day, breaking up the monotonous driving a bit) and camping at night in our fancy Toyota Tundra-like truck that serves as a platform to prop our tents up.  I’m still not so sure how I feel about this whole tent/camping outside at night/possible wildlife nearby thing, but I’m willing to give it a go.  We’ll be in areas that have kitchens and showers so we can “braai” (cookout to us Americans) and stay clean and warm, and campfires to sit around and tell ghost stories (fantastic! In the bush, no less!!).

Our daytime drives I think will be pretty much like this: hours of boredom interspersed with minutes of activity.  By this I mean, we will drive from place to place, sometimes the places we’re headed for are several hundred miles away and we are NOT driving down an interstate, but rather dirt roads in the desert.  There is likely not a lot going on during most of this time, but most likely every now and again we’ll see a springbok jump out from a bush or a hyena running out, or maybe a lion sleeping in the shade.  That will keep our excitement level up for another half hour, only then to be followed with quiet hours of driving and most likely, a nap here and there.

Certain places in Namibia are going to be more active than others.  There will be a place where we can go “sand boarding” and quad-biking, so I think we’ll definitely have several days of active, on-the-go movement.  And not to mention the days we do our walks to see the animals (first thing in the morning and at night) we’ll be glued to the horizon for a sight of activity from an animal (or hopefully 10).  So I know the time we’re in these countries will be active and exciting, but again I have no idea what to envision because I don’t know what it will look like!  I imagine lots of dirt roads, a few big trees here and there, and more than any other vegetation the small tree-like plants that manage to grow out of the arid dessert but serve little purpose.  In other words, desolate, empty and vast.  Sprinkle in a few large animals here and there into the scenery of course.  But for the most part, I expect a hot, dry, DESERT area.  Ooh, but maybe a few of those trees you always see in the fancy sunset photos with a giraffe or elephant in the foreground.  You know the ones: flat on top and wildly exotic.  Yeah, those are there somewhere too in my mind.

Once we hit the west coast of South Africa, I expect it to be a lot like the Pacific Northwest in the states: rainy, salty and full of beautiful oceanic noise.  Or maybe a little like the west coast of Ireland: green, lush and full of beautiful oceanic noise. 

And as for Cape Town, I imagine a thriving metropolis that offers wineries to the north, so therefore a beautiful Wine Country complete with blue skies and mild climate, Great White sharks to the south, so again more ocean and most likely a chilly ocean, with lots of activities to do in and around the beach/ocean, and a lot of restaurants and bars in the middle.  See?  I told you, not very creative in my mind is it?

No matter what we see, I know it will be spectacular.  And I know it will blow my images I have in my mind out of the water.  And I can’t wait to see how amazing it will be.